London Tube’s ‘Mind the gap’ announcer Phil Sayer dies

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DERBY, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Technicians work on London Underground trains at the Bombardier Transport manufacturing plant on July 16, 2014 in Derby, England. The train maker Bombardier build rolling stock for both mainline train operations and London Underground and currently they are building the latest consignment of carriages for the London Crossrail project. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

London Tube’s ‘Mind the gap’ announcer Phil Sayer dies

DERBY, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Technicians work on London Underground trains at the Bombardier Transport manufacturing plant on July 16, 2014 in Derby, England. The train maker Bombardier build rolling stock for both mainline train operations and London Underground and currently they are building the latest consignment of carriages for the London Crossrail project. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

LONDON (CNN) — The voice behind the “Mind the gap” and “Stand clear of the doors” announcements on the London Underground has died, aged 62.

Phil Sayer, a voice-over artist who recorded warnings for several London Underground lines, as well as for adverts, died on Thursday according to statements on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

“We are sorry to announce that this service terminates here,” his wife Elinor Hamilton said in the statement.

Hamilton described Sayer as a “voice of reason, radio, and railways” and “a dearly loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend.”

Sayer was a BBC regional TV and radio presenter in the 1980s, before setting up a voice-over business with his wife.

In 2014, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, for which he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. A year later, the illness seemed to have abated.

“If it is diagnosed too late, then surgery is no longer an option. Mine seems to have been caught just in time,” Sayer told his local newspaper, the Bolton News, last year, while preparing to take part in the Great Manchester Run. “It’s great to be here a year down the line with every confidence I’ve still got a future.”

But in early April this year he retired, citing health concerns.

“Due to a sudden and unexpected decline in Phil’s health, Sayer Hamilton Ltd is temporarily closing for business with immediate effect, and Phil will not be returning to work,” read a statement on his company’s website.